1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electronic-component supplying cartridge and particularly to the art of supplying electronic-component carrier tapes having different widths.
2. Related Art Statement
An electronic-component (EC) carrier tape carries a plurality of electronic components. The EC carrier tape includes an EC accommodating tape having a plurality of pockets for accommodating the respective components, and two side portions on both sides of the pockets, respectively. The side portions extend in a longitudinal direction of the EC accommodating tape. The pockets project downward from the side portions. For example, the pockets may be provided by forming a longitudinally continuous projection projecting downward from the side portions and forming a number of upward opening recesses at regular intervals of distance in the continuous projection. In this case, the recesses function as the pockets for accommodating the components. Alternatively, the pockets may be provided by forming a number of upwardly opening containers projecting downward from the side portions at regular intervals of distance. In the second case, the containers function as the pockets for accommodating the components. A cover film covers the respective openings of the pockets of the EC accommodating tape, thereby providing the EC carrier tape.
There is known a cartridge for supplying an EC carrier tape, which includes (a) a cartridge frame, (b) a tape feeding device mounted on the cartridge frame, for feeding the carrier tape in a feeding direction, (c) a pair of rails provided on the cartridge frame such that the rails extend parallel to the feeding direction, the pair of rails supporting a pair of side portions of the carrier tape, respectively, and permitting the pockets of the carrier tape to move or pass therebetween when the tape is fed on the rails by the tape feeding device, and (d) a tape positioning device which positions the carrier tape with respect to a lateral or widthwise direction thereof in which the pair of side portions of the tape are spaced from each other.
The positioning of a carrier tape in a cubic space is achieved by positioning the tape with respect to not only a longitudinal direction thereof but also a widthwise direction thereof and a direction of thickness thereof which are perpendicular to the longitudinal direction. Usually, the longitudinal-direction positioning of the tape is done by the tape feeding device. The widthwise-direction and thickness-direction positioning of the tape is done by, for example, the pair of rails and/or a cover member covering the cartridge frame. The rails and the cover member cooperate with each other to sandwich the tape therebetween, thereby positioning the tape in the thickness direction thereof. In addition, the cover member has a pair of side portions which just contact opposite side ends of the tape, respectively, or oppose the two side ends with small clearances left therebetween, respectively. Thus, the widthwise-direction positioning of the tape is achieved.
In the above-described conventional cartridge, the pair of rails are provided such that the rails are immovable relative to the cartridge frame, and the spacing of the two rails is pre-determined at a value which ensures that the two rails respectively support the two side portions of a carrier tape to be supplied by the cartridge.
However, usually, different electronic components having different sizes are carried by different carrier tapes having different widths. Accordingly, different EC supplying cartridges having different spacings of rails are needed for supplying different carrier tapes having different widths. Many sorts of EC supplying cartridges are needed and each sort of cartridges are needed only in a small number. Thus, the production cost of the cartridges as a whole increases to a disadvantage. Moreover, since the total number of the cartridges increases, the maintenance cost of the same increases to another disadvantage.